Gus semi-makeover

[Richard Rose]

Greetings! I've completed some changes to my Gus that I was not at all certain I needed. Although I have been very happy with the bike since building it I was curious about a couple of things. First, rapid rise was an itch I wanted to scratch. I splurged on an N.O.S. T400 Nexave from a group member here. Along with this rear mech. I had been wanting Silver 2 shifters since new. I'd built the bike with a few items I had on hand including Microshift thumb shifters. They were just "ok" in comparison to the Silver shifters on my Clem. But, the Nexave does not have a barrel adjuster and the Silvers do not either. However, as many of you are aware the Silver 2 shifters available from Bluelug do have barrel adjusters, so I ordered those. Bluelug service is fantastic! I had the shifters in less than a week all the way from Tokyo.

The BIG change and the one that made me a bit nervous was my decision to try a different handlebar. The whole reason I even got the Gus to begin with was my absolute love of my Clem L with Bosco. The promise of a slightly more trailworthy bike with all the comfort of the Clem was my motivation. I never even considered any other handlebar for the build. And it has been great. But, riding one of my favorite rowdy trails revealed certain shortcomings of the Bosco. It's not that I could not ride the trail, but rather a slight hesitance to do certain things - like a fast, rooty decent. Also, the Gus pretty much felt like a bigger Clem as the cockpits were identical. So I started getting curious about different handlebars.

My search led me to this "Albacore" handlebar from Hope Cyclery in nearby Pennsylvania. It is a collaboration with Leker Leks, custom bar maker in Philly. It is very wide - 785, with generous sweep - 60 degrees. My hope was to get into a bit more aggressive position without sacrificing comfort. The bars design meant I could not use my existing 100mm Nitto V stem. In addition the new bar has a 22.2 clamp size & I do not like shims. I lucked into a Paul Boxcar in 35mm length & 22.2 clamp!

Over the last two days I've managed 40 miles of singletrack. I could not be happier with the changes. Rapid Rise is so good! The new cockpit really kind of transforms the bike. The bike is now much more confidence inspiring and is even a bit "flickable" on the trail. I am thrilled! I am having trouble including pics so will do so with a comment.

[Richard Rose]

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 8, 2023, at 11:09 AM, Richard Rose <rmro...@gmail.com> wrote:

Greetings! I've completed some changes to my Gus that I was not at all certain I needed. Although I have been very happy with the bike since building it I was curious about a couple of things. First, rapid rise was an itch I wanted to scratch. I splurged on an N.O.S. T400 Nexave from a group member here. Along with this rear mech. I had been wanting Silver 2 shifters since new. I'd built the bike with a few items I had on hand including Microshift thumb shifters. They were just "ok" in comparison to the Silver shifters on my Clem. But, the Nexave does not have a barrel adjuster and the Silvers do not either. However, as many of you are aware the Silver 2 shifters available from Bluelug do have barrel adjusters, so I ordered those. Bluelug service is fantastic! I had the shifters in less than a week all the way from Tokyo.

The BIG change and the one that made me a bit nervous was my decision to try a different handlebar. The whole reason I even got the Gus to begin with was my absolute love of my Clem L with Bosco. The promise of a slightly more trailworthy bike with all the comfort of the Clem was my motivation. I never even considered any other handlebar for the build. And it has been great. But, riding one of my favorite rowdy trails revealed certain shortcomings of the Bosco. It's not that I could not ride the trail, but rather a slight hesitance to do certain things - like a fast, rooty decent. Also, the Gus pretty much felt like a bigger Clem as the cockpits were identical. So I started getting curious about different handlebars.

My search led me to this "Albacore" handlebar from Hope Cyclery in nearby Pennsylvania. It is a collaboration with Leker Leks, custom bar maker in Philly. It is very wide - 785, with generous sweep - 60 degrees. My hope was to get into a bit more aggressive position without sacrificing comfort. The bars design meant I could not use my existing 100mm Nitto V stem. In addition the new bar has a 22.2 clamp size & I do not like shims. I lucked into a Paul Boxcar in 35mm length & 22.2 clamp!

Over the last two days I've managed 40 miles of singletrack. I could not be happier with the changes. Rapid Rise is so good! The new cockpit really kind of transforms the bike. The bike is now much more confidence inspiring and is even a bit "flickable" on the trail. I am thrilled! I am having trouble including pics so will do so with a comment.

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[Kim H.]

Hi Richard,

I am very happy for you that found success out of your curiosity in changing up your cockpit to make it feel more comfortable in riding your Gus. Truly, comfort is everything. It's great to hear that you rode 40 miles of single track over a period of two days !  That's wonderful !  

I enjoyed reading your report of upgrades and how more confident you are in riding Mr. Gus Boots Willsen.

As for me, I am waiting for delivery of my 52cm blue Clem later this week. I should get it by Friday ?  From thereafter, I will be busy swapping componentry out and over from my 59cm Clem to my 52cm Clem and be able to go for a test ride. I bought a pair of Honjo Flat 65 silver metal fenders this morning from SimWorks to go on my new bike.

Kim Hetzel